The city’s attorney said Friday he hasn’t decided whether to drop a marijuana possession charge against Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, even though a friend of the player’s said the drugs found in Anthony’s backpack belonged to him.
“We’re still looking at the facts in the case,” City Attorney Cole Finegan said.
Anthony received a summons on Oct. 15 at Denver International Airport after a small amount of marijuana was found in his bag as the team prepared to travel to Milwaukee for an exhibition game.
Anthony’s lawyer, Daniel Recht, said the marijuana belonged to James Cunningham of St. Louis, who often stays with Anthony when he’s in Denver on business. Cunningham has signed an affidavit saying the drugs belonged to him.
After the news of Anthony’s citation broke Thursday, Recht met with Finegan and said he expected the case to be dropped.
Before Thursday night’s exhibition game in Los Angeles against the Clippers, Anthony said he was innocent and that he did not use or intentionally possess marijuana. He said he regretted any embarrassment he had caused his family, fans and team.
Recht has also said he received a letter from general manager Kiki Vandeweghe verifying Anthony passed four random drug tests last season and another just two weeks ago. The letter also said tests from U.S. Olympic Committee at the Athens Games this summer came back negative.